Two topics currently lead the debates in the museum sector: audience development and the use of digital media. This study addresses these debates by investigating how gamified mobile applications can support engagement with museums’ topics. It examines the online audience and their motivations for the use of media. It uses “MuseumStars” - which can be characterized as a museums quiz app for remote use - as a case study. Based on the uses and gratifications theory the study uses a mixed-methods approach. An online survey and two focus groups were conducted. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, factor analysis, and qualitative content analysis. The findings show that the main user motivation is to learn new things and to prepare or substitute a museum visit. In contrast to other research on mobile gaming, the connection to the physical space played a crucial role in using the application, while competition was less prominent. The findings also demonstrate that to better accommodate the audience's needs content is key. Hence, it can be concluded that digital media per se will not enhance engagement without the right presentation of the content: It must be translated to the media in an appropriate way to support the uses and gratifications of the audience and thus enhance engagement with museums’ topics.

Empirically based on a series of focus groups with college-age women, this thesis examines how the affordances of anonymity and audience specificity facilitate both intimate personal expression and political participation on the Tumblr platform. In dialogue with literature on self disclosure and privacy, I seek to broaden our understanding of the mediated contexts that provide space for women’s voices online. The privacy afforded by Tumblr’s registration policies allows users more flexibility in terms of self-presentation than sites such as Facebook, which are necessarily linked to one’s offline identity through “real name only” policies. The use of pseudonyms contributes to a larger culture of anonymity on the platform, emboldening users to express themselves more freely and with less consequence. Specifically, Tumblr norms encourage the communication of emotions other than happiness or significant “life events” – instead providing a space for girls to express culturally devalued emotions such as sadness and anger. These kinds of intimate and cathartic expressions were made to an (imagined) audience of close friends and strangers in which parents and acquaintances were importantly absent. The reduced pressure of explanation, a limited (often like-minded) audience and the lowered-stakes of anonymity, are all also key features that encouraged feminist expression online. For focus group participants, the possibility of back-and-forth Facebook debates with relatives or former classmates kept them quiet. They described these interactions as exhausting, not as true conversations but as times when they needed to give long explanatory defenses as to why their concerns were issues at all. While debate is often assumed to be as a positive, constructive element of political discourse, this research calls into question the ways in which these ideals contribute to the silencing of women online and ask us to rethink what it means to say that “the personal is political.”

Audience costs, which are defined as political costs for a leader generated when the leader fails to follow through on international commitments, are an important concept in international relations to understand the causes of war and peace. However, despite its prominence, evidence for audience costs is mixed at best. In this dissertation, by conducting a series of survey experiments in the United States, I examine a variety of causal mechanisms and observable implications of audience cost models. In Chapter 2 I explore the role of the media. The result of a survey experiment shows that the media's negative framing of a leader's backing down from a threat increases audience costs, but only after subjects are informed of the leader's justification. Chapter 3 tests the idea that the magnitude of audience costs depends on an individual's personality traits. A pilot experiment using a sample of undergraduate students does not support this expectation. Lastly, I compare the credibility of public versus private threats in Chapter 4. A conjoint survey experiment demonstrates that as many proponents of audience cost theory suggest, public threats are perceived as more credible, and the sources of their credibility are domestic audience costs.

This study explores the complexities of public sector communication in Region Stockholm, focusing on the reasons for the communicative decisions made to reach the public. Through qualitative interviews with communication professionals in the organisation, the study investigates the conditions they face, how they conceptualise their audiences (the public), and how this affects their communicative decisions, as well as what the consequences are following these communicative decisions. The study utilises a theoretical framework drawn from the concepts of the Montreal School’s perspective on the communicative constitution of organisation (CCO) and strategic communication, both through the theoretical lens of actor-network theory (ANT). Furthermore, these perspectives are combined with the concept of imagined audience.  This study identifies several conditions that influence both communication professionals’ communicative choices and their conceptualisation of the public. These include organisational structure, economic resources and digital affordances. This in turn shapes a dual perception of the public; as a homogeneous majority public conceptualised in relation to the organisation, possessing attributes such as Swedish-speaking and digital literacy, as well as diverse minority publics requiring tailored communication strategies outside ordinary day-to-day communication activities. Due to limited economic and structural resources, the organisation’s communication professionals tend to prioritise known groups (the general and homogeneous public) leading to the exclusion of the less familiar publics, which can be seen as problematic from a democratic perspective. This study contributes to the understanding of public sector communication through a novel perspective, highlighting the need to understand communication professionals’ perceptions of the public and the conditions in which they operate, with an emphasis on the democratic implications of inclusion and exclusion that follow.

Title: The (imagined) audience of cultural journalism – who’s there? This thesis examines how Swedish cultural journalists imagine their audience and the influence this has on their journalistic content. In light of a digitized media landscape, where new digital platforms have transformed media consumption patterns and increased competition, the audience plays an increasingly important role. In recent years, these developments have sparked debate within the cultural journalistic field in Sweden, regarding its implications on cultural journalism. Drawing upon the field theory of Pierre Bourdieu and commercialization, as well as the theoretical concept of imagined audiences, the study aims to identify the forces shaping the cultural journalists’ imaginaries of their audience and to what extent that influences the content being published in media. Methodologically, the research relies on semi-structured interviews with nine Swedish cultural journalists, to gain insight into how they articulate their imaginaries of their audiences. The findings of the study unveil various imaginaries within the field of cultural journalism in Sweden. While journalists envision culturally interested individuals as their primary audience, there is an aspiration to democratize culture and make their work accessible to all. Some strive for inclusivity, others emphasize the importance of maintaining cultural journalistic ideals. The results indicate that increased demands for commercialization has an impact on the imaginaries of the journalists’ and their content. Moreover, the study offers insight into some of the values, norms and ideals shaping the field of cultural journalism in Sweden.

Online gaming has over the years become very popular and during the global pandemic of 2019, gained an even larger amount of people indulging in the activity. All this online activity has led to a decline in in-person social interactions which have been researched to have negative effects on young adults. This thesis aims to find ways to promote more in-person social interaction with the help of games. An artifact in the form of a video game was created with active video game principles and pervasive game characteristics in mind, with the goal of achieving social interaction between players and spectators. Nintendo Joy-Con controllers are the main controller used and an external microphone to capture sounds is used to fulfill the prerequisites of pervasive games. A collection of five different minigames was created, all with different ways that noise can affect the gameplay. The results of the experiments showed that the artifact promotes in-person social interactions between players and spectators by making the spectators able to interact with the games.

Denna uppsats består av en kommentar på uppsatsförfattarens svenska översättning av ett utdrag ur Robyn Schiffs dikt Information Desk: An Epic. Översättningsprincipen som tillämpades bestod av tre skopoi som främst berörde aspekterna idiomatiskt språk, bra flyt vid högläsning och överföring av källtextens konnotationer, alla med fokus på den tänkta målpubliken. Dessa skopoi utvecklades med utgångspunkt i Reiss & Vermeers skoposteori. Även Tourys begrepp acceptans- och adekvansinriktad översättning inspirerade den övergripande metoden. Översättningen beräknades bli övervägande acceptansinriktad, vilket visade sig stämma. De mest relevanta översättningsproblemen, till exempel stavelsemönstret och tempusväxlingen, presenterades och översättningsstrategierna diskuterades. Översättningsprocessen underlättades av användningen av skopoi. Skoposteorin bedömdes i detta fall vara en lämplig teori att använda som underlag vid formuleringen av översättningsprincip och översättningsstrategier. / This thesis consists of a commentary on the thesis author's Swedish translation of an excerpt from Robyn Schiff's poem Information Desk: An Epic. The translation principle employed consisted of three skopoi mainly regarding the aspects of idiomatic language, a good flow when reading aloud, as well as transferring the connotations in the source text, all with a focus on the expected target audience. These skopoi were developed based on Reiss & Vermeer's skopos theory. Toury's terms acceptability and adequacy inspired the overall method as well. The translation was expected to be oriented towards acceptability for the most part, which turned out to be accurate. The most relevant translation problems, e.g. the syllabic pattern and the switching of grammatical tense, were presented and the translation strategies were discussed. The translation process was made easier by using skopoi. In this case, skopos theory was deemed a suitable theory to use as a basis while formulating a translation principle and translation strategies.

In today's digital era, the way we receive, share, and interpret information has evolved dramatically due to technological advancements and shifting social dynamics. The Web 2.0 era has revolutionized communication, transforming it into an interactive exchange between content creators and audiences. This shift has empowered individuals to engage actively with information, rather than just consuming it passively. Audiences, now seen as active participants, interpret content based on their demographics and preferences, influenced by media ownership and distribution channels. Digital media platforms, particularly social media and streaming services, provide new avenues for audience engagement and participation.  Despite extensive research on digital media audiences and consumer behavior, there is a notable gap in understanding the perspectives of digital advertising professionals on their audiences. These professionals shape consumer behavior and act as intermediaries between business entities and audiences. This study examines how advertising professionals perceive their audiences through the concept of imagined audiences. By examining the formation of imagined audiences, communicators can tailor their messages to resonate with diverse audiences across various platforms. This study utilizes qualitative methods, specifically semi-structured interviews with digital advertising professionals in Indonesia, to explore their perceptions of imagined audiences. Drawing on theoretical frameworks such as Goffman's impression management, Cooley's looking-glass self, and symbolic interactionism, this research aims to provide insights into impression management practices and enhance the effectiveness of advertising efforts in the digital landscape.

This dissertation considers the contextualising in African settings of three themes addressed in youth literature of the Baptist International Publications Services (IPS). It utilises a critical methodology developed from Kraft's (1979) ten principles of communication to analyse the efforts to contextualise the themes of salvation, the Christian family and witchcraft. Chapter one discusses contextualisation and presents a critical methodology based on Kraft's ( 1979) principles of communication. Chapter two is an historical background study of the International Publications Services. Chapters three, four and five use the critical methodology developed in chapter one to examine the themes of salvation, the Christian family and witchcraft respectively, as found in IPS youth literature. Chapter six is an analysis and conclusion of the study with suggestions for further research. / Missiology / M.Th.

I denna uppsats undersöker vi arbete med publik på Moderna Museet och Botkyrka konsthall genom att studera vilka logiker som gör anspråk på att reglera publikarbetet. Vi vill även se om publikarbetet påverkar kulturproduktionen inom institutionerna. Publiken, i rollen av medborgaren, har stått i centrum av den svenska kulturpolitiska retoriken sedan första hälften av 1900-talet. Språket har förändrats genom åren inom kulturfältet i och med införandet av nya begrepp och begreppsförflyttningar som t.ex. medborgarperspektiv, kulturell kvalitet, deltagande, dialog, kunder, effektivisering och resultatmätning. Bakom begreppen finns det handlingslogiker som formats av olika diskurser inom det kulturella fältet. En diskurs kan i korthet förklaras som det språk genom vilket vi tyder och förhåller oss till världen. Genom diskursanalys och nyinstitutionell teori kartlägger vi hur konstprofessionella-, demokratiska-, byråkratiska- och managementlogiken styr publikarbete på Moderna Museet och Botkyrka konsthall. Vårt resultat visar att det inte är en dominerande diskurs som tar anspråk på att styra och reglera konstinstitutionernas publikarbete. Vi kan däremot se att det är många olika logiker som existerar i en institutionell pluralism. Den demokratiska logiken har ett starkt grepp om publikarbetet, men de andra logikerna påverkar även val av hur man arbetar med publikarbete. Studien visar på att det är just publikarbetet som har fått bära statens och kommunens krav på att nå nya målgrupper och arbeta för mångfald samt tillgänglighet. Publikarbetet påverkar Moderna Museets och Botkyrka konsthalls kulturproduktion på olika sätt men på båda institutionerna har arbetet med publik en viktiga roll i legitimerandet av institutionernas verksamhet. / In this paper, we examine how Moderna museet and Botkyrka konsthall work with audience, by studying which logic claim to regulate the work with audience. We also want to see if their work with audience affects the production of culture within the institutions. The audience, in the role of citizens, has been the center of the rhetoric within Swedish cultural politics since the first half of the 20th century. The language has changed over the years in the cultural field with the introduction of new concepts and concept movement, such as citizen perspective, cultural quality, participation, dialogue, customers, efficiency and performance measurement. Behind the concept is the logics formed by various discourses in the cultural field. A discourse can be explained as the language through which we interpret and relate to the world. With discourse analysis and new institutional theory, we map how art professional-, democratic-, bureaucratic- and management logic controls the audience work in Moderna museet and Botkyrka Konsthall. The result shows there is a dominant discourse that claims to control and regulate the work within public art institutions. However, many different logics exist in an institutional pluralism. The democratic logic has a strong grip on the audience work, but the other logics also affect the choice of how to work with audience. This paper shows it is precisely the work with audience that had to bear the state and community’s requirements to reach new audiences and promote diversity and accessibility. The work with audience affects Moderna Museet and Botkyrka Konsthall in their cultural production in different ways, but the two institutions have been working with audience important role in the legitimization of institutions.